7 Best YouTube TV Alternatives In 2019

It is still early in 2019 and yet DIRECTV NOW, Hulu and YouTube TV have all already raised the price of their respective live TV streaming services.

YouTube TV was the most recent after having announced it is upping the price for both new and existing subscribers to $49.99 per month. For some, this will be a big increase in the monthly cost making now a good time to weigh up your live TV streaming options.

Interestingly, at this price point YouTube TV has gone from being one of the least expensive options to one of the most expensive. Although in fairness you do get a lot of features with YouTube TV that you might not get elsewhere or without having to pay more.

These include unlimited cloud DVR, the option to stream on three devices at the same time, and the ability to share a subscription between six individual accounts.

If you are currently a YouTube TV subscriber and are now considering switching, then although you might lose some features, you do gain in other places, including saving money on a monthly basis.

Here’s our top seven worthwhile alternatives to YouTube TV and all of these do offer some form of a free trial so you can test them out without paying and before making a firm decision.

DIRECTV NOW

DIRECTV NOW has come under fire of late due to its prices also increasing which was further compounded by a reduction in the number of channels included in the now higher-priced plans.

So if you were to compare the DIRECTV NOW of now to the DIRECTV NOW of old, you would be getting a lesser product.

However, if you compare it to YouTube TV, things might be a little different. First off, they cost exactly the same at the baseline level.

Secondly, although YouTube TV offers more channels overall for your $50, DIRECTV NOW comes with HBO for free. This is likely to be a big sell for many and for good reason. If you are already paying $15 per month for HBO then opting for DIRECTV NOW would in theory bring your TV price down to $35 per month.

Alternatively, you can opt for the “Max” package which sees the price rise to $70 per month. This adds a few more channels to the equation, including SHOWTIME.

Although this is $20 more than the standard YouTube TV plan, if you were to add HBO and SHOWTIME to YouTube TV the total would come to $72 per month.

Hulu with Live TV

Hulu with Live TV (+ Live TV) is likely to be the option many YouTube TV users first consider and that’s not a surprise.

Hulu with Live TV is now $5 cheaper than YouTube TV with the price coming in at $44.99 per month.

For that you can expect access to a very similar number and quality of channels, and access those channels from a decent array of devices, in home and when away from home.

What’s more, Hulu with Live TV also includes access to the standard Hulu on-demand subscription. This normally costs $5.99 per month and adds significantly more content to the overall Hulu TV package.

This combination of a large pool of content with a price that’s now on the lower side of YouTube TV makes Hulu a very good alternative.

If you do, you won’t be alone as Hulu with Live TV is understood to have been one of the big movers in 2018 as it climbed up the live TV streaming ranks. Second only to Sling TV.

Sling TV

Sling TV is one of the oldest services on this list and remains one of the most affordable. Subscribers have the option of choosing between two main packages, Orange and Blue.

Both offer slightly different channel lineups although both are priced at just $25 per month each.

Due to these different channel packages you can actually opt for the combined “Orange + Blue” package which provides access to all the channels through both plans. Best of all the combined plan is priced at just $40 per month.

Some of the downsides with this service is the overall channel selection is not quite as robust as other services and you are expected to pay for any additional functionality you might want. For example, DVR will cost you $5 extra per month for up to 50 hours of storage.

Right now, Sling TV is currently running a promotion where you can save 40% off any of the plans for the first three months, including the combined option. This equate to just $15 per month for either Orange or Blue, or $25 per month for the combined “Orange + Blue.”

fuboTV

fuboTV is the ideal option for those most interested in sports and especially in football/soccer. The service was created with sports in mind and this has resulted in a heavy reliance on one of the greatest number of sports channels available through a service like this.

It’s not all sports though as fuboTV does also provide access to a decent selection of entertainment channels as well. It just does lean more towards sports for those who need a more robust sports package overall.

In terms of the price, fuboTV costs $54.99 per month and users do have the option to upgrade their plan with more channels and features.

Those who opt to stick with the “Standard” plan can expect access to 84 channels, 30 hours of cloud DVR, and the option to stream on two devices at the same time.

PlayStation Vue

PlayStation Vue is a service that’s often gets forgotten about but it shouldn’t be ruled out.

You don’t need a PlayStation console to use the service and although it was originally considered to be an expensive solution, following price rises from many of the others recently it now seems less expensive than before.

Basically, PlayStation Vue starts at $44.99 per month for access to about 50 channels and rises up to $79.99 per month.

The latter option is extremely robust as it does offer a wide selection of channels as well as premium networks — including HBO and SHOWTIME – bundled in with the cost.

In addition, PlayStation Vue also offers a number of premium features that will apply to heavier users, such as cloud DVR and the ability to stream on up to five different devices at the same time.

Philo

As prices have gone up, more users have turned to Philo as as a solution.

This is certainly not a directly comparable service to the others on the list as it comes with a greatly-reduced channel lineup, as well as less premium features.

However, and this is a very big however, it is equally not comparable when it comes to price. Philo not only undercuts all of the major players, but it does so by a wide margin with the service starting at just $16 per month.

For the low price you can expect access to 44 channels and if that’s not enough you can pay $20 per month instead and in return you’ll get access to 57 channels.

Adding to the value, with Philo you can also stream on three different devices and record shows or catch up using the on-demand feature included.

It’s hard to argue with the prices Philo offers and if the channel lineup meets your requirements, this is the best option to go for to save the most money.

WatchTV

Like Philo, WatchTV is another service that’s designed to offer live TV access at a fraction of the cost. In fact, this one is slightly cheaper than Philo with the price coming in at only $15 per month.

However, the channel count is also much lower with only 35 channels in total on offer which makes Philo the slightly better option overall.

This is of course, depending on what channels you need or want access to as if it is the case that WatchTV covers the basics for you, then you’re better off going with WatchTV.

It may only be an additional $1 saved each month, but they all add up.